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 Jacob Trieber Federal Building - Helena, Arkansas Posted by:  iconions
N 34° 31.734 W 090° 35.250
15S E 721422 N 3823445
This three-story Modern-style building is located at 617 Walnut in Helena, Arkansas. It is named for a former judge.
Waymark Code: WMY5NF
Location: Arkansas, United States
Date Posted: 04/26/2018
Views: 1
The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is located at 617 Walnut Street, Helena, Phillips County, Arkansas. It sits on a one-acre tract on the southwest comer of Walnut Street and Perry Street. Immediately to the north of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse are a used car lot, single family residences, small office buildings, and a retail pharmacy. To the south is a vacant lot. To the west are several churches and the Phillips County Museum and Library. To the east is Court Square Park opposite the Phillips County Courthouse. (The previous Federal building used to stand on the northeast comer of Porter and Cherry streets, south of the Courthouse.)
The design of the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse is typified by its clean and efficient character, which is typical of a Modern-style Federal building built after World War II. The building exhibits characteristics of the International style with its flat roof without a ledge, metal windows set flush with the outer wall, smooth wall surfaces with no decorative detailing at the doors and windows, and its asymmetrical facade. The prominent northeast comer of the building is dominated by the stone portion of the building, which is taller than the rest of the building. The red brick, granite, and limestone building stands three stories tall and also includes a penthouse. It has a rectangular footprint with the north side of the building faced in gray stone and the larger southern portion of the building is clad in brick. Batesville limestone was used for the window sills, cornices, copings, and the east chimney cap. Windows are aluminum-framed awning windows with four panes of glass each. The roof is flat with built up roofing. A concrete parking lot for the building is located on the south end of the site.
Front/East Facade
The east elevation is the location of the building's primary entry and faces Walnut Street. The brick portion of this facade is marked by an aluminum canopy which spans the length of the first floor window bays. Fifteen aluminum-framed plate-glass windows with porcelain panels below extend to the building's main entry at the first floor level. The main entry is marked by a granite faced section with two aluminum U.S. seals and a storefront entry with geometric patterned decorative panels. The second and third floors are punctuated by ten window bays along the brick-faced portion of the facade. Each window bay is fenestrated by a four-pane, aluminum frame awning window.
The east facade of the stone-faced portion of the building is devoid of fenestration. At the first floor level are metal letters saying "FEDERAL BUILDING / UNITED STATES POST OFFICE / UNITED STATES COURT HOUSE." Below the letters is the cornerstone which reads "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA / DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER / PRESIDENT / 1959."
Side/North Facade
The building's north elevation faces Perry Street. Two thirds of the building's facade is clad in gray stone. The remaining western third is faced in brick. The stone section is a story taller because of the added height of the roof penthouse. A large vent constructed of decorative concrete block is present at the penthouse level. A single door sheltered by a canopy with aluminum fascia is present at the eastern end of the elevation; another entry is situated at the opposite western end. It has double doors and is set just west of another canopied section with a brick enclosure. The building's chimney stack extends from above this second canopied section to just above the penthouse level. The aluminum-framed, four-pane awning windows are evenly spaced on the western two-thirds of the building face, and includes four on the stone section (three on the first floor) and two on the brick section.
Rear/West Facade
The west elevation or rear elevation abuts a service alley and is clad in brick. It has two secondary employee doors, a roll-up garage door, and seven aluminum-framed, four-pane awning windows on the first floor. Near the north end of the building, in between the first and second floor, are four metal louvers. The second and third floors have ten aluminum-framed, four-pane awning window bays that are symmetrically placed except for a single steel window located in between the first and second floors in the fourth bay from the building's north end. In addition, in between the first and second bays from the north end is a large metal duct that scales the second and third floors.
Side/South Facade
The south elevation is the location of the postal loading dock and parking area. This building face is clad in brick and defined by the loading bay that runs two-thirds of its length. To the east of the loading dock is a group of three aluminum-framed, four-pane awning windows. Windows on the second and third floors are evenly spaced except at the west comer of the third floor where the bay is blank. The second floor has eight windows and the third floor has seven windows, and all of the windows are aluminum-framed, four-pane awning windows.
- National Register Application
Text of Historical marker in front of building:
Judge Jacob Trieber
1853-1927
Jacob Trieber served as United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Arkansas from 1901 to 1927. He was the first Jewish judge ever to serve on the federal bench. Trieber was born in Prussia in 1853, immigrated with his parents to St. Louis in 1866; the family moved to Helena, Arkansas in 1868. A brilliant student, he began to read law with a retired justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court after graduating from high school. He became a member of the Arkansas Bar in 1876, practiced successfully in Helena, and was active in civic life. A member of Temple Beth El, he married Ida Schradski in 1882, with whom he had a son and daughter.
A Republican, Trieber was elected a Helena City Councilman and Phillips County Treasurer, but lost elections for statewide and federal office. In 1897 President McKinley appointed him U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, where he served until he became a federal judge on January 9, 1901. The bench, bar, and public unanimously supported his appointment.
As a jurist Trieber was noted for his integrity, intelligence, fairness, and his progressive vision of the Constitution. In United States v. Hodges he held that the 13th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and federal statutes protected black persons who were prevented from employment by Klu Klux Klan intimidation. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Hodges in 1906, but the Court reversed itself in 1968 and accepted Judge Trieber's reasoning. Following the Elaine Massacre of 1919 Judge Trieber stopped the executions of six black men whose trials were unconstitutional. Trieber often sat with the U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis and the federal courts in New York.
Judge Trieber died in 1927 and is buried in Congregation B'nai Israel cemetery in Little Rock.
Year it was dedicated: 1959
Location of Coordinates: Building Entrance
Related Web address (if available): [Web Link]
Type of place/structure you are waymarking: Federal Building
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